Method of generating and redeeming coupons

ABSTRACT

A method of generating and redeeming a plurality of coupons includes generating a first coupon, generating a second coupon, distributing the first coupon to the first consumer, and distributing the second coupon to the second consumer. Generating a first coupon includes selecting a first group of offers from a plurality of offers such that the first group of offers is individually customized to the first consumer, and printing a first bar code identifying a first account and indicating that the first coupon relates to the first group of offers. Generating a second coupon includes selecting a second group of offers, and printing a second bar. Each of the plurality of offers is redeemable for a discount on a corresponding one of a plurality of products offered for sale, and the first group of offers differs from the second group of offers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35U.S.C. §120 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/528,501, filed Sep.27, 2006, which is incorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/697,913, filed Apr. 9, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,933,800, issued Apr.26, 2011, which is also a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/528,501, filed Sep. 27, 2006, and is incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Coupons have been used for decades to encourage consumers to patronize aparticular business or to buy a particular product. In general, couponsentitle consumers to receive a commercial advantage such as a discounton a particular purchase. Conventional coupons are presented toconsumers such that each offer for a commercial advantage is included ona different coupon accompanied by a different offer code such as a barcode, etc. configured to identify the offer to a point-of-sale terminal(e.g., a personal computer or other device accessing a retail website, acheck-out terminal or kiosk, etc.). In this manner, a consumer wishingto receive a plurality of commercial advantages generally must present aplurality of discrete coupons at the point-of-sale terminal where eachcoupon corresponds with a different product being purchased or otherwisecorresponds to a discount for which the purchase is eligible.

Coupon collection has become increasingly difficult as avenues fordistributing coupons have grown. For example, coupons are commonlydistributed by direct mail, point-of-sale displays, handouts, newspaperand magazine advertisements, printed matter on products such as salesreceipts, circulated through direct retail sale, email or webdistribution, and in other ways. As a result, in order to find couponscorresponding to products that interest a consumer, the consumer may berequired to search through a large volume of material. In addition, oncecoupons are collected, a consumer is required to store the coupons in amanner permitting the coupon to be subsequently located for on-demanduse at the point-of-sale terminal. Difficulties collecting and redeemingcoupons are further emphasized when the coupon offers being collectedhave different terms of use or redemption, such as different expirationdates or valid periods for use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of generatingand redeeming a plurality of coupons includes generating a first coupon,generating a second coupon, distributing the first coupon to the firstconsumer, and distributing the second coupon to the second consumer.Generating a first coupon includes selecting a first group of offersfrom a plurality of offers based on prior purchasing behavior of a firstconsumer such that the first group of offers is individually customizedto the first consumer, and printing a first bar code identifying a firstaccount and indicating that the first coupon relates to the first groupof offers. The first account includes a status of each of the firstgroup of offers and is associated with the first consumer. Generating asecond coupon includes selecting a second group of offers from theplurality of offers based on prior purchasing behavior of a secondconsumer such that the second group of offers is individually customizedto the second consumer, and printing a second bar code identifying asecond account and indicating that the second coupon relates to thesecond group of offers. The second account includes a status of each ofthe second group of offers and is associated with the second consumer.Each of the plurality of offers is redeemable for a discount on acorresponding one of a plurality of products offered for sale, and thefirst group of offers differs from the second group of offers. Otherrelated products and methods are also disclosed and provide additionaladvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to thefigures, in which like reference numerals designate like elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is flow chart generally illustrating a coupon system, accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view illustration of one embodiment of a multipleoffer coupon, according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a couponidentification code.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a database ofthe coupon system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of coupondesignations stored in the database of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a front view illustration of one embodiment of a multipleoffer coupon, according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear view illustration of a coupon card of FIG. 6, accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view illustration of one embodiment of a multipleoffer coupon included on a sales receipt, according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a front view illustration of one embodiment of a multipleoffer coupon, according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method of generating andredeeming a multiple offer coupon, according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view illustration of one embodiment of a statusprintout printed during the method of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method ofredeeming a multiple offer coupon as part of the method of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A coupon is provided for presenting a plurality of offers for commercialadvantage to a consumer wherein each of the plurality of offers isassociated with a single coupon identification code. In particular,unlike conventional paper coupons that are individually clipped,organized, and taken to the retail store, coupons according toembodiments described herein provide a system and method for theconsumer to redeem a plurality of offers using one disposable coupon. Byassociating a plurality of offers with a single coupon identificationcode, a more efficient and convenient method of providing commercialincentives is provided.

Not only are such coupons more convenient for consumers, but the couponsdescribed herein are more efficient due to the single identificationcode that is scanned or otherwise entered at the point of sale.Accordingly, the time spent at the point of sale to complete a singlepurchase transaction is decreased for the consumer and the retailsetting. Decreasing the overall time each consumer spends in thecheckout line or in completing a purchasing transaction provides a moreattractive shopping environment and experience, increases overallefficiency of the retail establishment, decreases the labor necessary tohandle consumer purchases, and improves the bottom line of retailersfrom which products are purchased. In addition, in one embodiment, thecoupons can be entered at the point of sale at any time during thetransaction rather than only at the end of the transaction as is typicalfor conventional coupons. The flexibility of when the coupons describedherein are entered during the transaction provides additional attributesof convenience.

Furthermore, according to embodiments described herein, databasemarketing can be incorporated to generate multiple offer couponscustomized to particular consumers based upon their purchase history,demographics, and/or other pertinent factors. Since the offers presentedto the one or more consumers are based on prior information about theconsumer, the likelihood that a coupon will be redeemed is increased.Increased coupon redemption is typically desired as it generallycorresponds to an increase in the number of products sold to consumers.As a result, the effectiveness of the marketing initiative associatedwith a multiple offer coupon is enhanced.

Turning to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a couponsystem 10 configured to provide for generation and redemption of coupons12 presenting multiple promotional offers for commercial advantage.Coupon system 10 includes a database 14 and a coupon generationprocessor 16. Database 14 is configured to store information that can beused to generate coupons 12 containing multiple offers that are targetedto particular consumers. It should be understood that database 14 may bea single database or any suitable collection or arrangement of databasesor memory storage. Coupon generation processor 16 is in communicationwith database 14 and is configured to process information stored indatabase 14 to generate particular multiple offer coupons 12 as desired.

Each coupon 12 generated by coupon generation processor 16 generallyincludes a plurality of offers for commercial advantage. Coupon 12 maybe any linked to any suitable promotion or other presentation andincludes details regarding a plurality of offers for commercialadvantage. In one embodiment, in order to facilitate redemption of theoffers, coupon 12 includes or is otherwise associated with acorresponding coupon identification code 18. Coupon identification code18 is stored in database 14 and is linked to the particular details ofthe offers, etc. associated with a particular coupon 12. As such, couponidentification code 18 is one example of means for linking each of theplurality of offers to a single coupon identification code.

Generated coupons 12 are distributed to consumers and can subsequentlybe redeemed at either a retailer point-of-sale (POS) terminal 20 or aremote point-of-sale (POS) terminal 22. In one embodiment, POS terminals20 and 22 are in communication with database 14 via network 24 andnetwork 26, respectively. In one example, each POS terminal 20 and 22includes a memory or other database 21 and 23, respectively, that can beused among other things to store the details of available offers.Accordingly, each POS terminal 20 and 22 is configured to use couponidentification code 18 to identify offers associated with coupon 12 andto access details of the identified offers stored in database 14 and/orthe respective memory 21 or 23. Using the offer details, each terminal20 and 22 is configured to accept and redeem the offers associated withcoupon 12 and, thereby, to award the consumer with a commercialadvantage on a purchase being made at the corresponding POS terminal 20or 22.

POS terminals 20 and 22 are each any cash register, kiosk, self-servicecheck-out station, personal computer, or any other suitable terminalincluding a computer processing unit configured to process consumerpurchases for retail sale transaction. In one embodiment, retailer POSterminal 20 is located at the retail setting and is configured toprocess a purchases for sale to a consumer. In one embodiment, remotePOS terminal 22 is remotely located from the retail setting and isconfigured to allow consumer interaction with a retailer website (notshown) to make one or more purchases. In one embodiment, one of retailerPOS terminal 20 and remote POS terminal 22 is not present.

The term “network” as used herein includes an intranet communicationlink, an Internet communication link, or similar communication link. Inone embodiment, networks 24 and/or 26 include an Internet communicationlink providing access to the worldwide web. In one embodiment, wheredatabase 14 is maintained by the retailer associated with retailer POSterminal 20, network 24 may be an intranet network or private networkavailable only to one or more retail settings associated with theoverall retailer and not generally available to the public. In thismanner, network 24 allows for remote communication between retailer POSand terminal 20 and database 14.

In one embodiment, remote POS terminal 22 is a personal computer locatedat the consumer's home or other location wherein the consumer is able toview a retailer website or to otherwise remotely communicate with aretailer via network 26. In this respect, in one embodiment, network 26includes the Internet, and introduction of coupon identification code 18to remote POS terminal 22 allows a consumer purchasing goods or servicesfrom the retailer website to redeem offers associated with correspondingcoupon 12 via network 26 as outlined in the offer details stored indatabase 14. It should be noted that while networks 24 and 26 areillustrated and primarily described as being discrete networks 24 and26, in one embodiment, networks 24 and 26 are the same network or haveat least one communication link in common.

One embodiment of coupon 12 is more specifically illustrated in FIG. 2.In one example, coupon 12 is printed on or otherwise affixed tosheet-like media 30, such as paper, paper board, plastic, or othersuitable base substrate. In one embodiment, coupon 12 is in anelectronic format delivered to a consumer via email or on a retailerwebsite and can be subsequently printed to media 30 or maintained in asolely electronic format. Coupon 12 may be distributed to a consumer inany variety of manners such as by direct mail, email, website display,point-of-sale displays, handouts, newspaper and magazine advertisements,printed matter on products such as a transaction receipt, circulatedthrough direct retail sale, and other suitable distribution means.

Coupon 12 generally includes offer details 32 and a redemption portion34. Offer details 32 indicate various specifics regarding individualoffers being made with coupon 12. For instance, offer details 32 includeproduct indicia 36 (generally indicated in FIG. 2) and discount indicia38. In one embodiment, product indicia 36 identify what goods and/orservices, if any, are associated with an offer. Product indicia 36include a name and/or brand 36 a of the product and/or a graphicaldepiction 36 b of the product associated with the offer being presentedwhere the product may be one or more of a good and a service offered forretail sale.

Discount indicia 38 include information about the type of commercialadvantage being offered. For example, discount indicia 38 may indicatethat the offer is for a dollar amount off of a product purchase price,for a percentage off the product purchase price, for a percentage off atotal cost of a purchase, for a free product when another product ispurchased, or for any other suitable commercial advantage. In oneembodiment, product indicia 36 and/or discount indicia 38 are providedfor each of the plurality of offers being made with coupon 12. In oneembodiment, a check box 40 or other suitable demarcation is alsoincluded on coupon 12 to facilitate consumer tracking of which offershave been redeemed during purchasing transactions. As such, check box 40is one example of means for manually tracking redemption of a pluralityof offers for commercial advantage.

Redemption portion 34 includes information regarding and/or facilitatingredemption of the offers presented with coupon 12. In one embodiment,redemption portion 34 includes retailer indicia 50 and use restrictionindicia 52. Retailer indicia 50 indicate the name, logo, trademark, orother identifier of a retailer configured to accept and redeem coupon 12and to provide a consumer with the offered commercial advantage. Userestriction indicia 52 inform a consumer of the terms of use of aparticular coupon 12 or for individual offers provided by coupon 12. Forexample, restriction indicia 52 may include one or more of an expirationdate, a period for use, a limitation on the quantity of items for whichan offer may be applied, a limitation of the number of times an offermay be redeemed, a list of exclusions, instructions regarding how toredeem the offers of coupon 12, and any other suitable terms orlimitations affecting use of coupon 12.

In one embodiment, redemption portion 34 includes coupon identificationcode 18 configured to be scanned, read, or otherwise entered into one orboth of POS terminals 20 and 22 (FIG. 1). For example, couponidentification code 18 is one or more of a magnetic strip, a linear barcode (a bar code having data encoded in one direction), amulti-dimensional bar code (a bar code having data encoded in at leasttwo directions), a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, astring of characters (e.g., numbers and/or letters), etc. Couponidentification code 18 is configured to link coupon 12 to a detaileddescription of the terms of the offers included therein stored indatabase 14 as will be further described below.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, coupon identification code18 is a bar code and includes information configured to facilitateprocessing of coupon 12. In one example, coupon identification code 18includes a plurality of information identifiers including one or more ofa bar code identifier 60, a coupon type identifier 62, an accountidentifier 64, a master offer identifier 66, and a check digit 68. Inone example, coupon identification code 18 links coupon 12 to one ormore offers, but does not include information regarding the details ofsuch offers (i.e., identify products, discount amounts, or other offerterms). Bar code identifier 60 is configured to identify the origin ofcoupon 12, such as from the retailer, manufacturer, or other promotingentity.

Coupon type identifier 62 signifies that coupon 12 relates to multipleoffers for discounts or other commercial advantages rather than a singleproduct. In one embodiment, account identifier 64 is configured toprovide a substantially unique identifier associated with each coupon 12as compared with other similar multiple offer coupons. By providing eachcoupon 12 with a substantially unique account identifier 64, fraud inredeeming coupon 12 can be decreased. For example, in one embodiment,the substantially unique account identifier 64 may be used to prevent ordecrease the redemption of copies, such as photocopies, of theoriginally rendered coupon 12. In addition, account identifier 64generally facilitates tracking of coupon 12. For instance, in massmailings each coupon 12 may be provided with a different accountidentifier 64 to facilitate tracking of which coupons 12 were redeemed,etc. or to otherwise differentiate each coupon 12 from other similarcoupons.

In one example, account identifier 64 corresponds to a particularaccount stored in database 14 (or other storage module associated withcoupon system 10) and is configured to facilitate tracking and use ofcoupon 12. In one embodiment, account identifier 64 corresponds to anaccount (for example, a consumer profile 74 or coupon designation 76described below with respect to FIG. 4) associated with a consumer towhom coupon 12 was originally distributed. In this manner, eachindividual consumer corresponds with a different account identifier 64or set of information corresponding to their particular consumerprofile. Accordingly, usage of coupon 12 can be tracked to the accountand, in some cases, to the consumer who originally received thepromotion, and a retailer or provider of coupon 12 can evaluate theeffectiveness of the distribution including coupon 12 by analyzing therate of offer redemption. As such, account identifier 64 is one exampleof means for associating the plurality of offers with a consumer.

In one example, when account identifier 64 is linked with a consumer,account identifier 64 is only generally linked thereto. For instance,account identifier 64 may be associated with a financial instrument(such as a check, credit card, etc.) used and assumed to be associatedwith an unnamed consumer and, as such, in one embodiment, is notspecifically linked to a named consumer. In one embodiment, accountidentifier 64 is merely a number or representation included todifferentiate a first coupon 12 from a second similar coupon withoutbeing linked to an account stored by coupon system 10.

In one embodiment, master offer identifier 66 provides informationregarding the particular offers being presented with coupon 12. Morespecifically, master offer identifier 66 corresponds with a portion ofdatabase 14 and/or memories 21 and/or 23 that defines the offersincluded with each coupon 12 and the terms of each corresponding offer.In one example, master offer identifier 66 provides informationregarding a pool of offers wherein only a portion of the offers includedin the pool are actually redeemable with coupon 12. Master offeridentifier 66 generally includes only an address or other pointer to aportion of database 14 and/or memory 21 or 23 that includes the detailsof what offers are associated with coupon 12. In one embodiment, masteroffer identifier 66 and, in one example, coupon identification code 18as a whole, are characterized as not including the terms of thecorresponding offers such as the products or value of the commercialadvantage being offered. Rather, the offer terms or details are onlyincluded in database 14 and/or POS terminal 20 and/or 22 and not incoupon identification code 18 itself. Check digit 68 is generated topermit checking that proper scanning of the remainder of couponidentification code 18 was completed.

In other embodiments, coupon identification code 18 includes otherinformational items and/or all the identifiers 60, 62, 64, 66, and 68discussed above may not be included. Other alterations of theinformation included in coupon identification code 18 will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reading this patent application.

Referring to FIG. 4, in one embodiment, database 14 includes informationfor generating and/or redeeming coupon 12. In one embodiment, database14 includes offer definitions 70, coupon generation rules 72, consumerprofiles 74, and coupon code destinations 76. Offer definitions 70include details regarding each individual offer that may potentially bepresented to a consumer. In particular, offer definitions 70 may includeinformation such as a type of offer, a product that an offer relates to,a value of the offer, and/or any restrictions associated with the offer.For example, an offer A (not shown) may be defined in offer definitions70 as pertaining to a dollar-off discount of brand V peanut butter andmay be defined as being available until a particular expiration date.Other details regarding offers may also be included, such as productsize definitions, quantity restrictions, etc. In this manner, offerdefinitions 70 include details regarding any number of offers availablefor presentation to consumers. In one embodiment, offer definitions 70are additionally or alternatively stored to POS terminals 20 and/or 22,more specifically, to memory 21 and/or memory 23 (FIG. 1) respectivelyincluded therein, or to another database (not shown) in communicationwith POS terminals 20 and/or 22.

Coupon generation rules 72 provide general rules for determining whichoffers defined in offer definitions 70 will be included in a generatedcoupon 12 (FIG. 2). In this manner, coupon generation rules 72 may beprovided for any one of a variety of promotional purposes. For example,coupon generation rules 72 may include rules for providing coupons tonew consumers, to seasoned consumers, to consumer who regularly purchasea predefined type of product from the retailer, to consumers of aparticular area, to promote a new product, to promote a new mediarelease, to promote a sale, etc. It should be understood that, in oneexample, coupon generation rules 72 can be modified, new rules added,and/or old rules deleted by a system programmer as desired to achieve aparticular promotional goal.

In one embodiment, where coupon generation rules 72 include one or morerules for selecting offers based on the historical purchasing behaviorof a consumer, database 14 additionally includes consumer profiles 74 orother accounts. Consumer profiles 74 of database 14 include a pluralityof consumer profiles each identifying a particular consumer andinformation about the identified consumer. For instance, a consumerprofile 74 may include purchasing history, demographics, or othersuitable information relating to a consumer that is useful in selectingoffers for presentation to that consumer. In one instance, the consumermay be identified by any one or more of a consumer name, a consumeraddress, a consumer financial account, a consumer log-in for or anaccount with a retailer website or other website, etc.

For example, where a consumer is identified based on a consumerfinancial account (i.e., a credit card account number, a checkingaccount number, etc.), all purchases made with a particular credit cardaccount number, checking account number, or other account identifyingfactor may be used to group such purchases together to define oneconsumer profile 74. Consumer profiles 74 may also include demographicinformation, consumer purchasing tendencies, prior coupon redemptionhistory for the consumer, and any other suitable information fordatabase marketing. Other manners of forming and defining consumerprofiles will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading thispatent application.

In one embodiment, coupon generation rules 72 may include a ruleconfigured to select specific offers from offer definitions 70 basedspecifically upon details of one or more consumer profiles 74. Forexample, a consumer who previously purchased a particular product may bemore likely to redeem offers relating to, associated with, or competingwith the particular product since the consumer is already known topurchase such products. In other examples, coupon generation rules 72may be configured to select offers relating to products that a consumerhas not purchased at the retailer before to encourage a consumer tostart purchasing such types of products at the retailer. In this manner,coupon generation rules 72 may include any protocol configured tospecifically select offers that a particular consumer is deemed morelikely to redeem based on past or current purchasing behavior to achievea desired promotional result such as to encourage a continuation of pastpurchasing behavior, an alteration in future purchasing behavior, etc.

In one embodiment, coupon generation rules 72 additionally oralternatively define triggering events that initiate coupon generation.For example, a consumer viewing or otherwise selecting a particular webpage, item, etc. on a website such as the retailer's website is definedas a triggering event causing coupon generation processor 16 to generatecoupon 12 for delivery to the consumer via the website, etc. In oneembodiment, coupon 12 includes a grouping of offers customized to aspecific individual consumer or a specific group of consumers such thata first group of offers, which is included on a first coupon 12 and isassociated with a first consumer or group of consumers, differs from asecond group of offers, which is included on a second coupon 12 and isassociated with a second consumer or group of consumers (see, e.g., thedifferent offers associated with different coupon identification codes18 a, 18 b and 18 c in FIG. 5. However, coupon generation rules 72 canbe defined to achieve an intermediate level of customization or nocustomization as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Additionally referring to FIG. 1, coupon generation processor 16 is anyprocessor or suitable system configured to parse offer definitions 70,coupon generation rules 72, and/or consumer profiles 74 to define acoupon 12. Once the details for a particular coupon 12 are selected, acoupon identification code 18 is assigned to coupon 12 and links coupon12 to the offers selected for coupon 12. More specifically, in oneembodiment, the offer, or at least an identifier thereof, is linked tothe assigned coupon identification code 18 as part of a coupondesignation 76 stored in database 14 and/or memory 21 and/or 23.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates records stored as coupon designations76. Where a coupon generation processor 16 determines that a coupon 12with a coupon identification code 18 of “18 a” should include “Offer A,”“Offer B,” etc. such offer information 80 and 82 is recorded. In oneembodiment, offer information 80 and 82 further includes a status, inparticular, whether an offer is available for redemption, has been used,or is otherwise unavailable for redemption for each offer associatedwith coupon 12 having coupon identification code “18 a.” Otherinformation specific to each coupon 12 may also be included in coupondesignations 76. In one example, coupon designations 76 may identify thename or other identifier of the offers associated with coupon 12 asoffer information 80 and 82, but do not generally include detailsregarding the terms of each offer. For example, coupon designations mayinclude that “Offer A” and “Offer B” are associated with coupon 12without designating a particular product, discount amount, expirationdate, or other terms of “Offer A” and “Offer B.”

In one embodiment, the type 84 of coupon provided may also be includedwhere various types of coupons may be defined. In one embodiment, alloffers provided in a particular coupon 12 are of a single type. Forexample, types of coupons 12 include multi-use coupons, single-usecoupons, unlimited-use coupons, etc. Multi-use coupons refer topromotional mechanisms in which coupon 12 can be used during multiplepurchase transactions, but where each offer included thereon isavailable for a single, one-time use. For example, where coupon 12includes an first offer, such as an offer for one dollar off a purchaseprice of brand V peanut butter, and a second offer, such as an offer forone dollar off a purchase price of brand W laundry detergent, each ofthe first offer and the second offer can only be used once even thoughcoupon 12 can be used during multiple purchase transactions. As such,coupon 12 can be used in two separate purchase transactions where thefirst offer is redeemed on one of the purchase transactions and thesecond offer is redeemed on a different one of the purchasetransactions. First and second offers can also be redeemed on a singletransaction so long as each of first and second offers is only redeemedone time.

Single use coupons refer to promotional mechanisms that can only be usedduring a single purchase transaction. For example, where coupon 12includes a first offer and a different second offer, use of coupon 12 inone purchase transaction prevents use of coupon 12 in any subsequentpurchase transactions. The one-time use of coupon 12 is true for alloffers associated therewith. For instance, if during a purchasetransaction only the first offer is redeemed, all offers including thesecond offer associated with coupon 12 are voided for use in futurepurchase transactions.

Unlimited use coupons refer to promotional mechanisms that can be usedduring multiple purchase transactions and each offer within the couponcan also be used during multiple purchase transactions. Unlimited usecoupons or any other type of coupon may include an expiration date orother quantity of use expiration such that at some point the promotionalmechanism can no longer be redeemed. Such expiration date or other userestrictions, where applicable, are generally recorded as restrictions86 in coupon designations 76. For example, where coupon 12 (FIG. 2)includes three distinct offers such as an offer for one dollar off apurchase price of brand V peanut butter, one dollar off a purchase priceof brand W laundry detergent, and one dollar off a purchase price ofbrand X toothpaste, each offer can be redeemed during any number ofpurchase transactions until that coupon 12 expires on a particular dateindicated in use restrictions 40 (FIG. 2).

Other offer types configured to achieve a promotional goal for theretail setting may be used as will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art upon reading this application. For example, particularoffers within a single coupon may expire or be available on differentdays in order to encourage a consumer to visit a retail setting on aparticular day or more than one particular day as desired (i.e. multiplephase coupons). In one example, a multi-use coupon is provided whereeach offer is available for a predetermined number of times (i.e., afirst offer can be redeemed twice and a second offer can be separatelyredeemed three times) and can be used on a number of transactions. Inaddition, each coupon designation 76 may include a particular mode ofdistribution or specifics regarding the format of the correspondingcoupon 12 to consumers. For example, coupons may be distributed viadirect mail, email, websites, point-of-sale displays, hand-outs,newspaper and magazine advertisements, printed on other products,printed on transaction receipts, etc. Other information may be stored indatabase 14 in addition to or as an alternative to offer information 80and 82 (such as offer identification and status), coupon type 84, and/orcoupon restrictions 86 as will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

In one embodiment, coupon designations 76 also identify a particularformat or configuration of coupon 12. For example, coupons may begenerated in a variety of formats including that illustrated in FIG. 2for coupon 12. For instance, coupons may be provided in a format similarto that illustrated and described for coupon 112 in FIG. 6, coupon 212in FIG. 8, coupon 312 in FIG. 9, and other suitable couponconfigurations. Each of coupons 112, 212, and 312 are similar to coupon12 as described above and as will primarily be referred to below exceptfor the differences explicitly enumerated herein. It should beunderstood, that in general, each of coupons 12, 112, 212, and 312 canbe substituted for each other, such as in the description of the methodsof FIGS. 10 and 12 primarily described below with respect to coupon 12.

More specifically, referring to FIG. 6, in coupon 112, a redemptionportion 134 is substituted for redemption portion 34 of coupon 12 ofFIG. 2. Redemption portion 134 includes information regarding redemptionof coupon 112 or at least a portion thereof. In one embodiment,redemption portion 34 includes a coupon card 160 removably coupled withsheet media 30 of coupon 112, for example, such that coupon card 160 isbordered on at least two sides by sheet media 30 as shown in FIG. 6. Inone embodiment, coupon card 160 is sized similarly to a credit card orcommon currency such that coupon card 160 is configured to easily fitwithin a wallet of a consumer to facilitate availability of coupon card160 during purchase transactions. With additional reference to the rearview illustration of coupon card 160 in FIG. 7, in one embodiment,coupon card 160 includes coupon identification code 18 and one or moreof offer details 132, check boxes 140, retailer indicia 50, and userestriction indicia 52.

In one embodiment, additional offer details 132 include additionalproduct indicia 136 and discount indicia 138. In one example, due inpart to the limited space provided on coupon card 160, additionalproduct indicia 136 and discount indicia 138, which are similar toproduct indicia 36 and discount indicia 38, are provided in anabbreviated format as compared to the format illustrated in FIG. 6 forproduct indicia 36 and discount indicia 38. For example, discountindicia 138 may be generalized to apply to all offers associated withcoupon 112 and/or product indicia 136 may list the items included in theoffers without graphical or other large representations of the productsassociated with the offers of coupon 112.

Since coupon card 160 includes coupon identification code 18, whilecoupon 112 as a whole can be distributed to consumers for promotionalpurposes, only coupon card 160 can be removed from media 30, stored,transported, and presented at POS terminal 20 and/or 22 to redeem theassociated offers. Accordingly, the bulk of coupon 112 (i.e., media 30)need not be stored and transported, which further increases consumerconvenience. In this manner, product indicia 136, discount indicia 138,and check boxes 140, if any, aid a consumer in tracking what offersrelate to coupon card 160, which offers have been used, which offers arestill available, etc.

Coupon 212 illustrated in FIG. 8 is printed as part of a receipt 200provided at retailer POS terminal 20 (FIG. 1) following completion of apurchase transaction. Coupon 212 is printed to include one or more ofredemption portion 34 with coupon identification code 18, productindicia 136, discount indicia 138, check boxes 40, retailer indicia 50,and use restriction indicia 52. As such, coupon 212 can be usedsimilarly to coupon 12 described above.

Coupon 312 illustrated in FIG. 9 is printed to or otherwise appears onsubstrate 30 or is electronically presented to a consumer, for example,via email or when a consumer is viewing a retailer's website. Coupon 312includes offer details 332 and redemption portion 334. Offer details 332are similar to offer details 32 described with respect to coupon 12(FIG. 2), but one or more of the offers indicated by offer details 332relates to a different type of offer. Furthermore, the offers of coupon312 are illustrated as all relating to a similar brand to illustrate amethod of promoting purchase of products related to products previouslypurchased by a consumer. For example, where a consumer previouslypurchased brand N fabric sheets, the offers of coupon 312 may relate toother the brand N products, for example, brand N laundry detergent andliquid fabric softener, to encourage consumer brand loyalty as indicatedby offer details 332. Offer details 32, 132, and 332 can readily besubstituted for one another.

Coupon 312 also includes redemption portion 334. Redemption portion 334differs from redemption portion 34 of coupon 12 and redemption portion134 of coupon 112 as it does not include coupon identification code 18(FIG. 2). Rather, coupon 312 includes instructions for redemption,namely that the offers indicated by offer details 332 are automaticallyredeemable by using a retailer credit card (i.e., a credit cardassociated with the redeeming retailer) to purchase the indicatedproducts or to otherwise make a purchase eligible for an offer (e.g., tomake a purchase of sufficient size such as for $50 or more to receiveten percent off the purchase).

In one embodiment, coupon designations 76 stored in database 14 (FIG. 1)are stored as part of a financial account or record associated with theretailer credit card such that, upon use of the retailer credit card,POS terminal 20 or 22 (FIG. 1) accessing database 14 is instructed toapply each offer indicated by coupon 12 where applicable. In thismanner, a consumer need not present any additional information at POSterminal 20 or 22 (FIG. 1) to redeem an offer, other than the retailercredit card, to pay for any purchases made. Other suitable formats andassociated methods of linking a multiple offer coupon with a financialaccount or record (e.g., a retailer credit card) may alternatively oradditionally utilized. Other types and formats of coupons 12, 112, 212,and 312 are also contemplated.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart generally illustrating one embodiment of amethod for generating and redeeming a multiple offer coupon generally at400 and is described with additional reference to FIG. 1. Method 400includes gathering consumer data at 402. Consumer data can be gatheredat 402 in any suitable manner, such as per known purchase behaviormodeling techniques. For instance, consumer purchases made at aparticular retailer such as by POS terminal 20 or 22 can besystematically stored to database 14 as consumer profiles 74 (FIG. 4)based on a linking account identifier such as a financial accountnumber, etc. as described above. In this manner, at 404, consumer dataincluding the purchases commonly made by a consumer, the monetarypurchase volume of a consumer, the frequency of purchases made by aconsumer, etc. for a particular consumer (or at least with a financialaccount associated with a particular consumer) is gathered, tabulated,and/or otherwise tracked and stored to database 14 to create a consumerprofile 404.

At 406, coupon 12 is generated. In particular, in one example, prior togenerating coupon 12, at 408, individual offers are defined and storedas offer definitions 70 (FIG. 4) to database 14 and/or memory 21 and/or23. As described above, individual offers may be defined to offer anycommercial advantage linked to a product for purchase or other purchaseidentifying factor. At 410, a coupon generation rule 72 (FIG. 4), whichprovides instructions for selecting offers for association with a couponto be generated, is defined and stored to database 14. As describedabove, coupon generation rules may be defined by a system programmer toachieve any promotional purpose (e.g., to promote repeat purchases, toencourage product loyalty, to promote purchases in related departments,etc.) as will be apparent to those of skill in the art.

As such, in one embodiment, generating a coupon at 406 includes coupongeneration processor 16 executing the coupon generation rule 72 (FIG. 4)defined at 410 using consumer profile 74 (FIG. 4) as defined at 404 toselect a group of two or more offers, which were defined at 408, forinclusion with coupon 12. In one example, generating a coupon at 406includes generating a coupon 12 customized for a particular consumer. Inone example, generating a coupon 406 includes generating a coupon 12configured to be sent to a group of similar consumers. In oneembodiment, operations 402 and 404 are eliminated and coupon 12 isgenerated at 406 without reference to a consumer profile or otheraccount.

At 412, the generated coupons 12 are distributed to correspondingconsumers (i.e. the consumers corresponding to consumer profile 74 usedto generate coupon 12). Coupons 12 may be distributed through any one ormore of a variety of means for distributing such as direct mail, email,websites, point-of-sale displays, handouts, newspaper and magazineadvertisements, printed matter on products such as cash registerreceipts, circulated through direct retail sale, etc. More specifically,in one example, coupons 12 are printed to substrate 30 and physicallydistributed to consumers. In one example, coupons 12 are electronicallygenerated and are electronically delivered to consumers via email or oneor more websites. In one embodiment, whether coupons 12 are physicallyor electronically delivered to consumers, each coupon 12 has a couponidentification code 18 customized to the corresponding consumer(s) or,more particularly, a new or existing consumer profile 74 associatedtherewith.

At 414, the consumer presents coupon 12 at one of POS terminals 20 and22. The retailer via POS terminal 20 or 22 redeems at least one of theoffers presented by coupon 12 on the purchase where applicable. Forexample, if a consumer is purchasing brand V peanut butter and theconsumer electronically or manually presents coupon 12 at POS terminal20 or 22 during the purchase transaction, one dollar will be deductedfrom one of the price of the peanut butter or the total purchase cost,provided the offer relating to brand V peanut butter is still availablefor redemption as defined by database 14. The method of redeeming coupon12 on a transaction will be further described below with respect to FIG.12.

At 416, a consumer optionally may request a coupon status inquiry beperformed by POS terminal 20 or 22 redeeming the coupon at 414 or at anyother POS terminal 20 or 22. Coupon identification code 18 is input intoPOS terminal 20 or 22, and POS terminal subsequently communicates withdatabase 14 to access coupon designations 76, more specifically offerinformation 80 and 82 including the offer identification and status. Assuch, the consumer can be updated as to the current status of offersrelated to coupon 12, in particular, as to when offers were redeemed,what offers are still available, etc. In one embodiment, performing acoupon status inquire at 416 includes printing the current status ofcoupon 12 at 418. A status inquiry 416 can be performed before and/orafter coupon 12 is redeemed on a transaction at 414.

One embodiment of a status printout 420 printed at 418 is generallyillustrated in FIG. 11. In one example, status printout 420 includessimilar fields as printed on coupon 12, such as at least a portion ofcoupon identification code 18 such as master offer code 66 and retailerindicia 50. In addition, status printout 420 includes one or more ofoffer details 432 including product indicia 436, discount indicia 438,and a status 480 for each of the offers. Similar to product indicia 36(FIG. 2), product indicia 436 identify which products, if any,correspond with the offers associated with coupon 12. Similar todiscount indicia 38 (FIG. 2), discount indicia 438 identify the value ofthe offer.

Status 480 indicates at least one of whether an offer is stillavailable, whether an offer has expired, whether an offer has been used,a date the offer expired, a date the offer was used, and other pertinentinformation. In this manner the consumer is informed of which, if any,of the offers relating to coupon 12 remain available for future use.Accordingly, the consumer is reminded of remaining offers, which therebyencourages a consumer to use the remaining offers for a subsequentpurchase. Additional indicia such as indicia 482, etc. may also beincluded on status printout 420 to promote coupon use, to entertainconsumer, and/or for any other purpose. In one embodiment, all or partof coupon 12 is disposable following completion of method 400 forgenerating and redeeming multiple offer coupon 12.

FIG. 12 more specifically illustrates one embodiment of a method forredeeming a coupon at 414, which was previously generally described withrespect to FIG. 10. Method 414 is described with additional reference tosystem 10 of FIG. 1. Method 414 includes entering coupon identificationcode 18 into POS terminal 20 or 22 at operation 500. Couponidentification code 18 can be entered into POS terminal 20 or 22 byscanning (for example, RFID, bar code, or magnetic strip scanning), keypad entry, or other suitable means and, in one embodiment, can beentered at any point during the transaction (for example, prior toproduct processing, during product processing, or after productprocessing for sale). At 504, POS terminal 20 or 22 additionally oralternatively accesses coupon designations 76 (FIG. 4) to determinewhich offers are presented with coupon 12. The identified offers arethen compared to offer definitions 70 stored in one or more of database14, memory 21, and memory 23 to access the details regarding the termsof those offers. More specifically, at 504, POS terminal 20 and 22determines which offers are presented with coupon 12 that are stillavailable for use (i.e., have not expired, have not previously beenused, etc. depending on the coupon type) as designated by coupondesignations 76.

In addition, at 506, the products being purchased by the consumer areprocessed at POS terminal 20 or 22. Processing the products generallyincludes entering the product description/identification and the productprice into POS terminal 20 or 22. Accordingly, at 508, the offersidentified at 504 and the products processed at 506 are compared todetermine if any of the identified offers can be applied to the purchaseof the processed products. For example, if an identified offer is for aone dollar discount on brand X toothpaste, the process products areanalyzed to determine if brand X toothpaste is being purchased. If brandX toothpaste is not being purchased, than the one dollar discount is notapplied to the transaction. However, if brand X toothpaste is beingpurchased, then the one dollar discount is applied to the transaction.In one embodiment, operations 500 and 504 can be performed at any timerelative to the operation of processing of the products to be purchasedat 506. In particular, operations 500 and/or 504 can be at leastpartially completed during any one of before, during, or after operation506.

At 510, following operation 508, database 14 is updated to indicate oneor more of coupon use, redemption of an offer, to update an offerstatus, to update a consumer profile 74, to debit a financial account orrecord, to record a purchase, to link consumer profiles 74, etc. In oneembodiment, use of coupon 12 is particularly useful in updating the pastpurchasing history of a consumer. More specifically, as described above,consumer profiles 74 are typically generated based on a number of afinancial account previously used to make a purchase at a retailsetting. Accordingly, if a single consumer uses multiple financialaccounts, such as a first credit card, a second credit card, a checkingaccount, etc., it is possible that multiple consumer profiles 74 (e.g.,one of for each financial account) have been generated for a singleconsumer since there may be no indication that the multiple financialaccounts are related.

However, where coupon 12 is distributed to the consumer based upon afirst consumer profile (i.e., a first credit card) and coupon 12 isredeemed in a transaction using a financial account associated with asecond consumer profile (i.e., a second credit card), coupon system 10,more particularly, database 14 is notified that both the first consumerprofile and the second consumer profile relate to a single consumer.Upon such a determination, the two consumer profiles can be merged intoone compound consumer profile or can be otherwise linked for futureanalysis. In this manner, a more complete representation of thepurchasing behavior of the consumer can be generated by linkinginformation from the once separate consumer profiles together.

At 512, the purchasing transaction is completed and a receipt is printedat POS terminal 20 or electronically transmitted to POS terminal 22. Inone embodiment, in addition to providing a traditional purchase receiptat 512, coupon status printout 420 (FIG. 11) may automatically beprinted at 514 while in other embodiments, coupon status printout 420 isprinted upon explicit inquiry of the status of coupon 12. The status ofthe offers is determined based upon database updates entered at 510and/or the prior recorded status of offers in database 14.

In one embodiment, printing the receipt at 512 additionally includesprinting a new coupon, at 516, such as printing a new coupon 212 (FIG.8) including a new coupon identification code 18 and corresponding tonew offers. In one example, new coupon 212 includes offers generally notrelated to the offers presented with original coupon 12. For example,new coupon 212 may be offered during a transaction that renders originalcoupon 12 void (i.e. no more offers are available for redemption withcoupon 12). In other examples, new coupon 212 is offered followingtransactions in which no coupon 12 was redeemed. New coupon 212 may beanother multiple offer coupon or any other coupon generally associatedwith receipt marketing. In one embodiment, operations 514 and/or 516 areeliminated.

Although the invention has been described with respect to particularembodiments, such embodiments are meant for illustrative purposes onlyand should not be considered to limit the invention. Variousalternatives and other modifications are within the scope of theinvention and its various embodiments will be apparent to those ofordinary skill.

1. A method of generating and redeeming a plurality of coupons, themethod comprising: generating a first coupon including: selecting afirst group of offers from a plurality of offers based on priorpurchasing behavior of a first consumer such that the first group ofoffers is individually customized to the first consumer, and printing afirst bar code identifying a first account and indicating that the firstcoupon relates to the first group of offers, wherein the first accountincludes a status of each of the first group of offers and is associatedwith the first consumer; generating a second coupon including: selectinga second group of offers from the plurality of offers based on priorpurchasing behavior of a second consumer such that the second group ofoffers is individually customized to the second consumer, and printing asecond bar code identifying a second account and indicating that thesecond coupon relates to the second group of offers, wherein the secondaccount includes a status of each of the second group of offers and isassociated with the second consumer; distributing the first coupon tothe first consumer; and distributing the second coupon to the secondconsumer; wherein each of the plurality of offers is redeemable for adiscount on a corresponding one of a plurality of products offered forsale, and the first group of offers differs from the second group ofoffers.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the first couponincludes: generating sheet media listing each of the first group ofoffers, generating a coupon card listing each of the first group ofoffers, and coupling the coupon card with the sheet media such that thecoupon card is readily removably coupled with the first sheet media. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein coupling the coupon card with the sheetmedia includes positioning the coupon card relative to the sheet mediasuch that at least two sides of the coupon card are bordered by thesheet media.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the couponcard includes forming the coupon card to be shaped similarly to a creditcard.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein generating the sheet mediaincludes generating the sheet media to include a plurality of checkboxes each associated with one of the first group of offers tofacilitate manual tracking of redemption of each of the first group ofoffers.
 6. The method of claim 3, further comprising: redeeming thefirst coupon for the discount corresponding with one or more productsbeing purchased by the first consumer, wherein the operation ofredeeming is performed using only the coupon card without the sheetmedia.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first account is associatedwith a first financial instrument used by the first consumer, and thesecond account is associated with a second financial instrument used bythe second consumer, the method further comprising: gathering dataregarding prior purchases made by the first consumer using the firstfinancial instrument to define the prior purchasing behavior of thefirst consumer; saving the prior purchasing behavior of the firstconsumer to a first consumer profile in a database; gathering dataregarding prior purchases made by the second consumer using the secondfinancial instrument to define the prior purchasing behavior of thesecond consumer; and saving the prior purchasing behavior of the secondconsumer to a second consumer profile in the database.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the first financial instrument is a credit card.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the credit card is associated with aretailer, and the operations of gathering data regarding the priorpurchases made by the first consumer, generating the first coupon anddistributing the first coupon are all performed by the retailer.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein distributing the first coupon to the firstconsumer includes one of electronically distributing the first coupon tothe first consumer and distributing the first coupon to the firstconsumer via a transaction receipt.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: processing the first coupon including: using the first barcode of the first coupon to identify the first group of offers and thefirst account, comparing the first group of offers associated with thefirst coupon to one or more products being purchased by the firstconsumer, and applying a discount to a purchase price of any of the oneor more of products being purchased that correspond with the first groupof offers.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising maintaining adatabase storing both the first account and the second account, thedatabase being accessible by one or more point-of-sale terminals,wherein one or more of the point-of-sale terminals complete theoperation of processing the first coupon.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the first bar code uniquely identifies the first consumer, thesecond bar code uniquely identifies the second consumer, and whereinprocessing the first coupon includes recording that the first coupon wasredeemed by the first consumer using a third financial instrumentassociated with a third account, and the method further comprising:linking the first account to the third account as part of a singleprofile of the first consumer.
 14. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: printing a current status of ones of the first group ofoffers that are available for subsequent redemption, wherein theoperation of printing is performed by a point-of-sale terminal followingprocessing the first coupon; and delivering the current status to thefirst consumer while the first consumer is at the point-of-saleterminal.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: collectingpurchase information regarding the prior purchasing behavior of thefirst consumer based a plurality of purchase transactions involving thefirst consumer and the prior purchasing behavior of the second consumerbased a plurality of purchase transactions involving the second consumerand storing the purchase information to a database; and accessing thepurchase information along with offer definitions and coupon generationrules, which are each stored by the database, with a coupon generationprocessor, wherein the coupon generation processor uses the purchaseinformation, the offer definitions and the coupon generation rules toperform the operations of generating the first coupon and generating thesecond coupon; wherein the operation of collecting purchase informationis performed by one or more point-of-sale terminals, and the one or morepoint-of-sale terminals, the database and the coupon generationprocessor are all related to a single retailer.
 16. A method ofproviding a plurality of offers each being redeemable for a discount ona corresponding one of a plurality of products offered for sale, themethod comprising: selecting a group of offers from a plurality ofavailable offers defined in a database; associating each offer includedin the group of offers with a master offer identifier saved in thedatabase; generating sheet media including a visual indication of eachoffer included in the group of offers; generating a coupon card listingeach offer included in the group of offers and including a single barcode configured to be optically read by a point-of-sale terminal duringa purchase transaction, wherein the bar code includes informationidentifying the following: a coupon type indicating that the coupon cardrelates to more than one discount, an identity of the master offeridentifier, and an account including a status of each offer included inthe group of offers; and removably coupling the coupon card with thesheet media, such that the coupon card is bordered on at least two sidesby the sheet media.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein generating thesheet media includes generating the sheet media to include a pluralityof check boxes each associated with one offer included in the group ofoffers to facilitate manual tracking of redemption of each offerincluded in the group of offers, and generating the coupon card includesforming the coupon card to be shaped similarly to a credit card.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the account is associated with an individualconsumer and a financial instrument used by the individual consumer tomake prior purchases at a retailer.
 19. The method of claim 18, themethod further comprising: gathering data regarding prior purchases madeby the consumer using the financial instrument; saving the data to thedatabase as prior purchasing behavior of the consumer; wherein selectingthe group of offers is based on the prior purchasing behavior of theconsumer such that the group of offers is individually customized to theconsumer.
 20. A method of generating and redeeming a plurality ofcoupons, the method comprising: generating a first coupon including:selecting a first group of offers from a plurality of offers based onprior products purchased by a first consumer with a first consumerfinancial account such that the first group of offers is individuallycustomized to the first consumer, generating a first coupon cardincluding a first bar code, which identifies a first coupon designationand indicates that the first coupon relates to the first group ofoffers, wherein the coupon designation includes a status of each of thefirst group of offers and is associated with the first consumer, and thefirst coupon card is shaped similarly to a credit card, and coupling thefirst coupon card to a first sheet media listing each of the first groupof offers such that the first sheet media borders at least two sides ofthe first coupon card, wherein following coupling, the first coupon cardis readily removable from the first sheet media; generating a secondcoupon including: selecting a second group of offers from the pluralityof offers based on prior products purchased by a second consumer with asecond consumer financial account such that the second group of offersis individually customized to the second consumer, generating a secondcoupon card including a second bar code, which identifies a secondcoupon designation and indicates that the second coupon relates to thesecond group of offers, wherein the second coupon designation includes astatus of each of the second group of offers and is associated with thesecond consumer, and the second coupon card is shaped similarly to thecredit card, and coupling the second coupon card to a second sheet medialisting each of the second group of offers such that the second sheetmedia borders at least two sides of the second coupon card, whereinfollowing coupling, the second coupon card is readily removable from thesecond sheet media; distributing the first coupon to the first consumer;and distributing the second coupon to the second consumer; wherein eachof the plurality of offers is redeemable for a discount on acorresponding one of a plurality of products offered for sale, and thefirst group of offers differs from the second group of offers.